Democracy Impacts

Catalan Separatists Lament Lack of EU Support

December 01, 2017

An article in The Washington Post highlights the disappointment of Catalan campaigners that the EU has not supported its calls for separation and has not investigated its complaints against anti-protester violence by Spanish authorities during their ongoing push for independence from Spain.
EU Agency Seeks Unified Climate Adaptation Policies

November 29, 2017

A report from the European Environment Agency calls for "closer policy alignment" and more access to EU funding among the bloc's member states to permit adaptation to the ongoing impacts of global warming.
British MP: EU Must Offer Trade Deal for Exit Fee

November 28, 2017

Bernard Jenkin MP writes that the only scenario in which the UK should offer money to the EU in Brexit negotiations is in return for a free trade deal with the bloc.
UK Official Bolsters Brexit "No Deal" Threat

November 28, 2017

UK International Trade Secretary Liam Fox recently warned EU leaders in an interview that the British government is not "bluffing" on its willingness to leave the bloc without a trade or other deal if Brexit negotiations fail, asserting that trading with the EU and the rest of the world under World Trade Organization rules is not a "nightmare scenario."
Polish PM Criticizes Multi-Speed EU Proposals

November 27, 2017

An article in The Daily Express reports on the public opposition by Central and Eastern European leaders, including Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydio, to the idea of a "multi-speed EU," permitting some members to transfer their sovereignty to the supranational organization quicker than others, currently under consideration by EU and Western European officials.
EU Committee Calls for New Migrant Quota Scheme

November 27, 2017

EUobserver reports that, dismissing opposition by EU Council President Donald Tusk to future migrant quota schemes, the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament adopted a report calling for new minimum migrant quotas for each EU member state and the withdrawal of development funding from countries that refused to comply with the policy.
EU Council Chief Talks down Future Migrant Quotas

November 27, 2017

According to EUobserver, the President of the Council of the EU Donald Tusk recently stated that he didn't "see any special future" for minimum quotas of migrants for each EU member state after pushback from the Central European Visegrad countries - Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland - to the European Commission's most recent migrant quota scheme.
Eastern EU Members Miss out on Agencies

November 22, 2017

A Politico article highlights how the selection of Amsterdam and Paris as the post-Brexit homes of the European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority, respectively, has signaled the growing divisions between Western Europe and Central and Eastern Europe regarding the future aims of the EU project.
Germany, Denmark Seek EU Extension on Border Controls

November 21, 2017

EUobserver reports that, due to "a considerable amount of illegal migration" and terrorism concerns, Germany and Denmark have notified the European Commission that they intend to extend border controls along their normally passport-free Schengen borders by six months.
UK Risks Support of Brexit Voters over ECJ Arrangements

November 20, 2017

British political commentator Mark Wallace explains his concerns about UK Prime Minister Theresa May's plans for a post-Brexit transition period during which Britain remains within the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ), warning that pro-Brexit voters will bridle at a seeming "sleight of hand" keeping the UK under the rule of EU institutions.